The Human Web: A Bird's-Eye View of World History

Part 1 emphasizes The Role of Technology and Environment in Shaping Human Societies and building the human web. The book posits that the significant tangible and intangible technologies were the human body and spirituality/religion, respectively. The authors suggest that the technology of the body enabled the development of new tangible technologies: Since protohumans “walked on two feet most or all the time, our ancestors could use their hands to wield sticks and throw stones” (10)“ and “[substitute] tools for teeth” (10). The relationship between body technology and tool technology is symbiotic and created the first worldwide web.

Bipedalism gave rise to tool usage, which conferred certain advantages that shaped the development of the Homo erectus body, specifically feet and legs “specialized for long-distance running and walking” (11) and larger brains. The comparison between Homo erectus and Homo sapiens underscores the point: “Further enlargement of the braincase, together with other small changes in skeletal design” (11) as well as behavioral and social developments contributed to Homo sapiens’ rapid spread across habitable areas of the globe (11).

By mentioning evolution of the brain, the authors support the idea that the human body is itself a technology that enabled the development of other technologies. Larger brains meant greater information-processing capacity and the ability to create “a world of symbolic meanings, capable both of exceedingly rapid evolution and also of coordinating the behavior of indefinite numbers of individuals” (12). While the world of symbolic meanings refers to speech, spirituality/religion also constitutes a world of shared meanings that drives human connection. Animism “expanded the code of manners that defined interpersonal relations within the band to embrace the whole wide world, including, not least, relations with neighboring bands,” or groups of humans (17). Again, a symbiotic relationship is evident since humans created religious systems that shaped human behavior and then adapted those religious systems or created new ones to conform to changes in behavior. Moreover, ritual elaboration gave birth to the cultural diversity underlying cultural exchange. Subsequent sections elaborate on The Dynamics of Cultural Exchange and Conflict, emphasizing the role of religion.

The relationship between humanity and the environment is another symbiotic relationship that the text explores in Part 1. Protohumans and early humans survived in various natural environments by adapting to what those environments offered them. The discussion of the three different early societies at the end of Part 1 provides evidence of how environments shaped human behavior and culture. The Inuit along the Arctic coastline hunted whales “wherever prevailing winds, currents, and the shape of the shoreline gave them the best opportunities” (21), while Magdalenians used caves and tools to create art. The Natufian peoples in Southwest Asia harvested wheat while the climate was warm and moist, and when the climate became drier again, some Natufian populations turned to migratory hunting and gathering.

At the same time, human activity transformed the environment. The authors speculate that human hunting was a decisive factor in “widespread die-off of large-bodied animals” (15), and humans’ control and use of fire “accelerated the circulation of nutrients across successive plant generations, enlarging scope for some species and marginalizing others” (16). The environmental and ecological impact of human activity increases with the growth and tightening of the web, as later sections show.